Money Bag
by MissDonnie
Summary: Money has been buried on the land where Jane built his family a house. The only one who really knows where the money is, is Casey and their four year old isn't sure where she found it. (Please note: My older stories can be found under "MissDonniex" (note the "x" at the end.)
1. Chapter 1

It has been awhile since I've put up a story….am never sure when I write one if it will be good enough. Money has been buried on the land where Jane has built his family a house. The only one who really knows where the money is Casey their four year old daughter….and isn't sure where she found it.

* * *

A young child with black hair, curls running down her back, walks slowly through a house. She has a stuffed pony in her hand, and she is walking with her head down. She walks into a kitchen and looks at the man who is busy cutting up potatoes and carrots. She just stands there and puts her thumb in her mouth. After a couple of minutes she sighs and takes her thumb out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry Daddy….can I go out play now?" She blinks trying to make tears. The man turns around and looks at his daughter, he remembers the night of his marriage to Lisbon, and the wonderful gift she had told him about that night. That gift is now standing in the kitchen looking at him, with the same green eyes her mother has. She even pouts like her mother does when she is upset with him.

"I'm happy that you said you're sorry, Casey, but you still have to wait until the timer goes off in the living room for a time out."

She stamps her foot "I said I'm sorry, and I cleaned up my room like you told me Daddy."

Patrick goes over and sits down at the small kitchen table and motions for her to come to him. She goes up to him and stops in front of him. "You know that Uncle Kimball, Uncle Wayne and Aunt Grace will be here for dinner." She nods yes her curls moving around. "You saw me cleaning up the house and starting a roast for dinner. I asked you to go and clean up your room didn't I?

Again his daughter nods her head. "I did clean my room," she says almost yelling at him. Patrick looks at her and frowns. "That is going to cost you another ten minutes." He sees tears coming from her eyes and hands her a hanky from his coat. "When I went to your room, what did I find…?"

"I was playing a game and I didn't really clean up my room like you asked me to do." More tears are coming down her face.

Patrick can't take her crying, but he can't take her in his arms yet.

"I'm really sorry Daddy and I will go back to my room and clean it real good."

Patrick opens his arms and she rushes in to hug him. After a couple of minutes he sits her on his lap, takes the hanky from her, wipes the tears off her face and has her blow her nose. He gives her a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be in your room to take a look as soon as cut up the rest of the carrots to put in the slow cooker with the roast. All you really need to do is put your dolls away where they belong and your books in the bookcase."

She gets down from his lap with his help. "I love you Daddy."

His heart fills with love for this carbon copy of his wife. "I love you too Casey."

She runs out of the room leaving her pony on the floor. He picks up the toy and lays it on the table and goes back to cutting up the carrots.

He has just finished turning on the crock pot and is cleaning off the counter when he hears his daughter run into the room. "Daddy, there is a man getting out of a car out front. He has a gun like Mama does and he is holding it in his hand. Is he a friend of Mama?"

Patrick feels the blood drain from his face. He rushes over to Casey and kneels down to her level. "Casey this is very important and you need to obey me. I want you to go hide in your rabbit hole for me. Don't come out until I call you."

Casey had been trained to go into a small safe room in her bedroom. They called it her rabbit hole, and there was a small table and mirror hiding it. It was big enough for her to crawl under and open the door and crawl in and bolt the door. When she bolted the door a small lamp lights up for her. There are dolls in the room and pillows on the floor.

Casey knows that when one of her parents says to go there, she doesn't ask questions. She runs out of the kitchen and goes to her safe place.

Patrick stands and takes a large breath as he walks to the front door, hearing someone knocking. He opens the door to a man holding a gun.

"Can I help you officer?" hoping that the man was police officer, who would be taking his ID out of pocket soon

The man just smiles and shoots Patrick in the foot. Patrick yells and grabs hold of a chair to keep from falling. He looks shocked as he sees blood coming from his shoe.

"You tell me where the money is buried and I'll leave you in one piece." The man yells out at him.

"I don't know what money you're talking about." Patrick says trying to figure out what this man wants. He and Lisbon never keep much money in the house.

"Guess you're not hearing me correctly, I want the money that was buried here seven years ago. I drove by the other day and I saw your little girl playing by the drive way, throwing money up in the air. She must have found the bag…. So where did you put it, and where is the brat?"

"She is in pre-school….and maybe I can help you find the money."

The man shakes his head and aims his gun and shoots Jane in the thigh. Jane goes down yelling out in pain as he puts his hand over the wound. The man goes over and starts kicking Jane in his ribs. As Jane rolls over to get away, the man starts kicking him in the back. Then he kneels down by Jane and rolls him on his back. He starts hitting Jane with his fist, stopping and asking where the money is again and again. When Jane passes out the man stands and starts going through the house room by room. He looks under the bed and closet in the master bedroom and then into a room that looks like a study, pulling open the closet. He goes down the hallway to another room. It is a little girl's room. He goes over and tosses the bed to see if she is there. He goes to the closet and moves all the clothes around to look on the floor. He stands there breathing hard and then rushes out of the room. After the man slams the front door the house is quiet except for timer on the living room coffee table that goes off with a buzz.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for those that read chapter two, that was really chapter one. I always have a problem uploading a chapter. I know this time there is one mistake I made…just don't know which one…..**

She waits like her Daddy told her, holding onto Harold the Bear. She went shopping with her Daddy and he bought it for her. Daddy said that Harold kept him telling that he loved Casey, and he tried to write her a letter but he was a bear who couldn't write. He wasn't the cutest bear there, but Daddy told her that Harold the Bear would keep all of her secrets to himself, and he wouldn't tell anyone about them. There were times when she would go into her rabbit hole and tell Harold how her day was. He was very good at listening.

Holding Harold up so he could hear as she whispers in his ear, "I know Daddy said I should stay here until he comes and calls my name, but it's been a long time, Harold. I heard the bad man when he drove away. Maybe Daddy got busy and forgot me."

She is very quiet and tears roll down her face. "You're right Harold, he would never forget me… He said he would always be here for me." She puts Harold the Bear down on a pillow and unbolts the door as quietly as she can and opens the little door and listens for any noise. She puts her finger to her lips and shakes her head and looks at Harold, warning him to quiet.

This time he is able to stay conscious and listen for any noise around him. He tries to move, but moans in pain. There isn't a spot that doesn't hurt. Casey….he has to get to her. He rolls over on his stomach and manages to move forward a bit, but is stopped by the pain.

She comes out of her room, walking on her tip toes so nobody would hear her. She moves down the hallway and looks in her parents room. Mama is going to be mad when she sees what a mess their bedroom is. She walks towards the living room stopping every second or so to listen. Stopping she hears someone by the front door moan. Maybe she should go back, but she walks forward and looks at the front door and sees her father on the floor. She runs to him and kneels down by him, and cries out when she sees all the blood on the floor.

Patrick opens the one eye that isn't swollen and sees Casey by his side. She's holding onto his hand. "Daddy….please open your eyes for me, I scared Daddy." He sends up a short prayer to anyone who could hear a thank you that she is okay. "It's okay honey, I need you to do something very important." She nods yes as she looks at him, he can tell how scared she is by looking at him. "I want you to go the phone in the kitchen….." He pauses to control the pain. He doesn't want Casey to get more scared than she already is.

"You need to drag a chair against the wall so you can reach the phone. I know we've told you not drag chairs on the floor…but this time it's okay. I want you to dial 911. Tell the person on the phone you need help, tell him our address, just like we taught you. Do what the person says to do and don't hang up until he tells you to. Someone will come quickly to help me."

"I don't want to leave you, Daddy. …Please don't make me go, I scared you might go back to sleep." She wipes the tears from her eyes.

Patrick takes his hand and manages to take her hand in his. "I'll be fine…but you have to leave me just for a while. I know you're scared, sweetheart, but I'll be fine as soon as help comes. Be my brave little girl and do as I asked you." He kisses her hand and lets go of it. He doesn't want to leave her alone, but the pain is winning the battle and he passes out.

Casey runs from him into the kitchen. She pulls the closest chair, dragging it slowly across the floor, pulling with all her might. She gets up on the chair and picks up the phone receiver and dials the numbers that her Daddy said to dial. When she hears a woman on the phone, she cries out. "My daddy is hurt, he said to call you! We live at 2145 Taylor, my mommy taught me that. Please hurry. I gonna call my Mama now."

She hangs up the phone and picks it up again and dials another number slowly hoping that she remembers the numbers right. Mama needs to know that Daddy needs help.

Lisbon is sitting at her desk going through some of the files that needed her signature, glad the day was almost over. The Rigby's called an hour ago that they had landed at the airport and would meet her at the house. It had been about six months ago that they got together. She smiles remembering how Patrick taught their daughter to swim in the ocean. She turns her thoughts away when her phone rings. She looks at the number and sees that it's their home number. Patrick must need her to pick up something on the way home. He is a great cook, but terrible about picking up everything needed when he decides to make a special meal.

"So what did you forget this time, my absent-minded husband? Casey! Why are you on the phone and where is your Daddy?"

She stands abruptly, pushing her chair away from the desk. Cho and Wiley look towards her where they are talking near Cho's office. They both rush over to her.

"Why is Daddy on the floor?!" She looks panicked.

"Call 911, Wiley, and get them to my house!" Wiley moves quickly to his desk and picks up the phone.

Cho gently takes the phone from Lisbon and puts the receiver to his ear. "Casey, this Uncle Kim…yes, Mama will be home soon and some men will at your house soon, so you need to open the door for them…..A bad man…." Lisbon sits on the chair she pushed away, her eyes teary. "Casey, do you hear any sirens coming to your house?…The men will be good men they'll help your daddy. Yes, your mother and I will there as soon as we can. Hang up the phone now, sweetheart, and go to the front door."

"I need to get there Cho. Now!" Lisbon gets up and starts to rush out. Cho stops her.

"I'll drive and we'll get there as soon as we can. They're going to need you to be calm for them."

She nods as the three of them leave the office.

Casey gets off the chair and runs back to her father. She rushes away and comes back a short time later carrying a first aid kit. She has trouble unlatching the box, but finally gets it open. She looks at all the different items and picks up a lot of bandages. She opens a big bandage and tries to decide where to put it, she finally puts it on a small cut on his eyebrow, and looks at her work and opens another one. Soon she has her father's face almost covered with bandages. She hears the siren pull up to the house and come to a stop. She rushes to the door and opens it.

"Hurry! My daddy is hurt and he needs your help, nice men," she yells at the top of her voice, waving her arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Cho drives faster than the speed limit; Lisbon doesn't notice, all her thoughts are on Jane. How did this happen? Of course with Jane anything can happen. She unconsciously rubs the cross her mother wore until the day she died, praying she will find Jane at home with a turned ankle or some silly thing he did. That is what she wants it to be, but with Casey calling her at the office, she knows it is very serious.

"We should be there in five minutes Lisbon. You need to be calm when we get there, no matter what has happened to Jane. Casey needs her mother calm so that she will be." Cho looks at her and sees her fingering the wedding ring on the chain with the cross.

"I know, it's just the not knowing."

Four police cars and a fire truck converge on the Jane's home. Police and paramedics rush into the house. A car pulls up to the scene and stops. The two people in the car look at each other for a second. They quickly get out and rush to the house without exchanging a word. A policeman standing by the door stops them.

As he raises his hands to stop them, "Who are you folks?" the officer says with the slow accent of a born and bred Texan.

"We are friends of the family. We just arrived from California to meet them here," Rigsby says trying to stay calm.

Grace moves away from Rigsby and adds in a serious tone, "Is their daughter in the house? We are her God parents. I have the papers showing we are authorized to take the child if the parents are unable to do so." She starts searching her purse.

"You can go in and get the girl now. Her mother is on the way."

The Rigsby's rush past the officer. They see paramedics working on Jane, an IV already in his arm. One paramedic is on the phone to the hospital briefing them about the patient they are getting ready to transfer. Rigsby goes over to Jane, while Grace looks around for Casey. She hears someone yelling her name and suddenly a little body is slamming into her. The little girl is sobbing. "Aunt Gracie you're here!" she says hugging Grace as she tries not to look at her father on the floor surround by men in blue uniforms. She knows they are the good guys. Grace picks up Casey and carries her out of the room, hugging the girl, telling her everything would be fine. She enters Casey's room and sees the bed turned over. She goes to the rocking chair and sits down.

"Uncle Wayne and I are here. Where is your mother, sweetheart?" She puts Casey on her lap so she can see the child.

Casey tries to stop crying but having seen her father on the floor again, just keeps saying 'Daddy' over and over. Rigsby comes into the room and kneels in front of the chair. He puts his hand on Casey's back. Grace tries to remain clam as Rigsby talks softly to Casey.

"Sweetheart, your daddy is going to be okay. They are getting ready to take him to the hospital. Where is your mother, the police need to talk to her?

"I called Mama after I called 911 like Daddy told me. Uncle Cho said they were going to be here, but they weren't here yet," she says in a whisper. "I want my mama." She looks at her uncle. He stands and lifts her. Her head is on his shoulder.

A female officer charges in. "Casey you were supposed to stay with me!" She softens her tone. "You had me worried," the woman says, looking at the couple with the child. Grace goes to speak quietly to the officer.

"We are Casey's God parents. We just got here from a flight from California and saw what was going on. Do you know where her mother is?"

"Agent Lisbon is on her way here from FBI headquarters. She knows her husband has been injured and that Casey is okay." Grace breathes a sigh of relief. They hear more distant sirens. "That's probably her arriving now," the officer says and leaves to check. Casey is now almost finished crying, hiccuping softly. Rigsby nods for Grace to go meet Lisbon. She rushes away. Jane is now on a stretcher ready to be taken to the hospital. She continues outside where she sees the FBI van pulling up. The doors open and Cho, Lisbon and Wiley pile out.

Lisbon sees them bring Jane out and hurries to him, putting her hand out for the paramedics to stop. She reaches the stretcher and looks down at her husband. His face is severely swollen, with bruises and a bloody nose. She leans down and whispers, "I'm here, sweetheart. They're taking you to the hospital and you're going to be fine." She stands and looks at the paramedics. "I'm his wife and I'm riding with you. I'll back in a moment."

"No more than a few minutes. We're ready to take off."

Cho approaches. He looks at Jane, worried. "You go…I'll stay here with the police and see what's happened. I'll bring Casey to the hospital shortly."

They load the stretcher in the ambulance. Cho helps her inside. He watches her sit by the stretcher and take Jane's hand.

Cho starts for the house when Grace comes out. She runs over as soon as she catches sight of him. He catches her in a comforting embrace.

"I'm so glad you're here, Cho! Was that Lisbon in the ambulance?" She says as they separate.

"Yes. Who's in charge?" he asks looking around as the fire truck and some police cars leave.

"Someone mentioned Sheriff Hayden - in the house. He has people dusting for fingerprints." They walk into the house followed by Wiley.

Grace approaches an older man who is directing the officers to search the grounds near the house. He sees Cho, turns, and shakes his head. "Agent Cho, sorry to have to meet you again at the Jane's house. Right now we really don't have much to go on. Their daughter won't talk to me. She's pretty scared."

"Did Jane say anything?" Cho looks down at the blood-stained floor where Jane must have been.

"He came around just after we arrived and asked about Casey. I told him she's safe. That stopped him from making it hard for the paramedics to work on him. Then he passed out. Right now we have no clues on what happened. He was shot twice, in the foot and upper thigh. Whoever shot him damn near beat him to death."

"If you don't mind, the FBI will handle this case. He is still our employee. There's a long list of people he helped put away that might still hold a grudge."

"No problem. Figured you'd want the case. I'll make sure you get all the reports and any prints we get from the house. I'll leave a couple of men here tonight in case someone comes back." He looks around the house and lake. "They made this place a nice home. The land and cabin were for sale for seven years, a real eye sore."

"Surprisingly Jane did this mostly on his own. Sometimes I think there's nothing he can't do. Thank you for all the help, Charlie." They shake hands and Charlie leaves.

"Wiley, start going through the FBI cases Jane's worked on. Then we'll look at some of cases from the CBI. Talk to Abbott about that."

Wiley nods okay, looks at the blood-stained floor and pales. Working with Cho hasn't helped much when looking at blood. "I'll catch a ride with the police so I can get started." He dashes out to catch one of the cars leaving.

Grace speaks. "Wayne's with Casey in her room. She won't tell us what happened. She sees you more often than us." They start towards the bedroom. "Jane told her to run to the safe room in her bedroom. We're not sure what she saw."

In the bedroom, Rigsby sits in the rocker with a very quiet Casey. She looks up, climbs down from his lap and races to Cho. Not really being around children much, Casey is the exception to Cho's rule. He sees her two or three times a week. She captured his heart in the first hour after her birth, when he saw her in Jane's arms. Despite everyone's concern about how Jane would react to having another daughter, the look on Jane's face showed this daughter was very much welcome. Rigsby rises and nods to Grace to follow him out of the room.

Cho sits in the rocker and pulls Casey onto his lap. "Are you okay, sweetheart?

"I was scared until the good guys came into the house. I put bandages on Daddy's face, and one of the men said I did a very good job. Where is Mama?" She looks to the bedroom door, hoping to see Lisbon.

"She went with your Daddy to the hospital. She knows you are a big girl who can stay with me here."

Casey tries not to tear up - after all, Uncle Cho says she is a big girl. "When can I go?"

"It will be a while until the doctors take care of your daddy. Your mama will stay with him. After you and I have a talk I'll take you to the hospital so you can see your mother." Cho knew Casey had a mind like her father's; she took in everything like a sponge.

"Casey can you tell me what happened here today? I need to know so we can arrest the bad man who hurt your father."

She gets down from his lap and stands next to him. Just like her father when she is nervous her hands never stop moving.

"I was in time out….I needed to clean my bedroom." She takes a look at her room for the first time. "I guess it needs more work. I heard a car come up the driveway and this big man got out. He was really tall. He took a gun from his coat and I thought he might be a friend of Mama. I wanted to let Daddy know 'cause sometimes you can't hear cars from the kitchen. I told Daddy that a friend of Mama's was there and he had a bigger gun then she has. Daddy told me to go to my rabbit hole and not come out until he told me. I could hear the big man yelling at my daddy and there were two gun shots." Casey suddenly looks worried. "Marvin, my bear, told me not to leave the rabbit hole, but I heard Daddy yell out like he was hurt bad. When it got quiet Marvin said I could tiptoe and see what was happening. I was as quiet as a mouse and went out my rabbit hole and walked out of my room. I saw Daddy on the floor and ran to him. He had blood all over and he could only open one eye. He told me to call 911, then went to sleep again. Do you think Daddy will be mad I came out without him telling me I could?"

Cho stands and reaches for her hand. They leave the bedroom. "He won't be upset. You were a brave little girl and you helped your daddy. Your aunt and uncle are going with us to the hospital so you can see your mama."

A tiny voice says, "And my daddy too."


	4. Chapter 4

She is walking up and down the hallway of the emergency waiting room, has been walking for what seemed like hours, but it had only been an hour. Walking to the window she looks into the darkness, watching another ambulance with lights on pull up, knowing another family would be walking the floor with her. She catches sight of the doctor taking care of Jane enter the room and come towards her. It's hard to judge the look the doctor has on his face.

"Mrs. Jane, your husband is doing fine. The bullet shot into his foot, passed through without breaking any bones. He will be on crutches for a couple of weeks until the wounds heal. The bullet in his thigh came close to the femoral artery. He was very lucky otherwise he could have bled out before paramedics arrived. He can only see out of one eye, but it is only swollen and there is no damage to the eye. He has deep bruising on the ribs on his right side, which will be pretty painful when he is able to walk. We are getting ready to take him up to surgery to take the bullet out. If you want to see him I can give you five minutes before he is moved."

"Yes thank you." Feeling her pulse calming down and the stress release its choke hold, she follows the doctor into the room. Two nurses are busy getting the equipment attached to Jane ready for the move to surgery.

The doctor goes to the side of the bed and leans over the safety rail. "Patrick, your wife is here, she's been worried about you." He moves away so Lisbon can go to the bed. Jane moves a bit and moans.

"Sweetheart, I'm here, can you hear me?" She holds his hand.

Jane opens the eye that isn't swollen shut and looks around. He looks confused as he catches Lisbon's gaze.

"Hospital? Why am I here?" he manages to say, with confusion.

"Yes, you're in the hospital again, Jane. I thought we agreed we're not going to meet here again."

"My bad." He closes his eye drifting off from the medication they gave him. Suddenly he tries to sit up, intensely looking at Lisbon, fear in his eyes.

"Casey….Casey, is she hurt?" The nurses manage to ease him back on the bed.

Lisbon quickly says, "She fine, Jane. She went into her rabbit hole like you taught her. When you are out of surgery you can see her."

"Good. Proud of her," he says, almost whispering as he closes his eye and drifts off.

"We need to take to take him now, Mrs. Jane," one nurse says quietly.

Lisbon bends down and kisses Jane's forehead, and stands and starts to leave. She says to the nurse, "Just a warning, my husband is a lousy patient." She smiles and walks out. The nurses wheel the bed out of the room and into an elevator as she watches. She goes back to the waiting room to see Cho holding Casey's hand. Casey runs to her mother as Lisbon kneels to hold her daughter close. She looks up at Cho. "Thank you."

"Mama, I'm glad you're here, Uncle Cho said this is where Daddy is, when I can see him?" the excited child asks all in a rush, looking around.

Lisbon stands, takes Casey's hand and leads her to a chair by Cho. She sits and pulls Casey up onto the seat alongside. "Daddy is asleep right now so the doctor can help him feel better."

"How long will that be? Before I have to go to bed?" Lisbon kisses her daughter on the forehead. "It might be, but I'll make sure you will be here first thing in the morning."

"That bad man won't find him here will he?" Casey asks quietly, uncertain if it's really safe again.

"No, dear. Someone will sit at room door to make sure." Lisbon sees the Rigsby's come down the hall. "Thank you so much for taking care of Casey." Wayne and Grace each lean over to give her a hug which she returns. They hug Casey as well.

"How is Jane?" Grace whispers to Lisbon.

"They just took him into surgery to remove the one of the bullets."

Rigsby and Cho talk, and both join Grace and Lisbon. "Grace and I have two rooms at a hotel near here. Why don't we take Casey with us, and she can sleep in our room tonight? We had an extra bed brought in."

"I packed her a suitcase for tonight and tomorrow." Grace says, looking over at a very sleepy Casey who is watching the adults.

"That would be great, thank you both.

"Was Jane able to say who was at the house?" Cho asks so quietly that Casey can't hear him.

"No, he was very sleepy and in pain. Did Casey say anything while you had her?"

"No, just that a bad man was there, I think she knows more than she is telling us, but I'm not sure why. She is like Jane; she observes everything that happens around her. Maybe we can talk to her in the morning after she's over the shock of what happened?"

Rigsby goes over and picks up Casey, her head on his shoulder, eyes closed in sleep. Lisbon gives her daughter a quick kiss.

Grace hands her a business card. "This is the hotel, and we have connecting rooms 404 and 406. We'll wait up for you."

Gratefully, "What would I do without the three of you." Lisbon gives them each a kiss. She and Cho watch them leave. "Cho, what do you think Casey is keeping from us?"

"When I talked to her earlier I was hoping that she would be more open, answer my questions. She was too concerned about her father. But when I asked what she heard, she wouldn't talk to me at all."

"What could she be hiding? She's only four. I hope it isn't something she thinks I would be angry about."

Leaving the questions for the next day, they both sit down and get as comfortable as they can until the surgery is over.


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone else in the waiting room left to be with their loved one from surgery. Lisbon was sitting on a couch, her eyes closed as exhaustion caught up with her. "Mrs. Jane … Mrs. Jane" a voice wakes her and, seeing the nurse she quickly stands. "Your husband has been taken to his room, the doctor is with him and you can see him now. He's in room 325."

With a quick thank you, she grabs her purse and takes off down the quiet hallway. She starts to go into the room as the doctor comes out. "Your husband is doing fine. He will sleep until morning, and he should be able to go home in a few days." He reaches into his pocket and takes out a small plastic bag and hands it to her. "This is the bullet we took out of him, Agent Cho said that they would want it."

Lisbon takes the bullet and looks at it for a second and puts it into her jeans pocket. She thanks the doctor, enters the room and goes to the side of the bed. She listens to the sound of the EKG machine and is comforted with the sound of Jane's heartbeat; she bends down and kisses Jane on the forehead, taking in how he looks. "I'll see you in the morning, Patrick. I love you." Giving him another kiss she leaves the room.

She drives to their house and gets out of the car, walking up to the door. Two police officers are standing at the door watching her. She takes out her badge and ID and flips it open so they can see her name.

"Agent Lisbon, I'm Officer Harris. We talked a short time ago." He opens the front door and she goes into the house. Standing at the entrance, she's visibly surprised the floor has been cleaned of Jane's blood.

"Agent Cho sent over a company to clean the floor and put the bedrooms back together. We'll be here the rest of the night, and there's also an officer stationed in back. If you need anything let us know." He closes the door leaving her alone with her thoughts. She goes into the kitchen knowing she needs strong coffee. She was going to pack her small suitcase and go to the hotel but gets side-tracked by enticing smells from the kitchen. The crock pot is still on. She looks in it, sees the roast dinner Jane had fixed. Tears flood her eyes and she slides down the wall to the floor and lets her feelings out. Jane could have been killed. Only because Jane was worried something might happen to their daughter was their child safe. She starts sobbing. Here alone, she doesn't have to be the strong Lisbon that she always shows the outside world.

A few hours later she arrives at the hotel room the Rigsby's reserved for her. On impulse, she opens her side of the connecting doors to the adjacent room occupied by her friends. She wants to see Casey, but considering the time, knows the Rigsby's are sleeping by now. She puts her small suitcase down and heads toward the bathroom when she hears a slight tapping at the connecting door. Opening the door, she sees Grace standing with a very sleepy Casey holding her hand.

"She kept waking up asking for you," Grace explains looking down at the child. Lisbon bends down, picks up her daughter and hugs her.

"Thank you, Grace. I don't know what I would have done without you and Wayne here tonight."

"You two get some rest and we will see you in the morning." Grace reaches out, pats Casey's back, smiles and goes back into the other room, shutting the door.

"Where is Daddy?" a muzzy Casey asks as Lisbon goes over to the bed and pulls down the bed covers.

"He's asleep at the hospital. We'll go see him in the morning, sweetheart." She lays her daughter on the bed and kisses her. "We both need to get some sleep, so close your eyes and have sweet dreams."

It seemed as though she had just gone to sleep, when she's jarred away by Casey screaming in her sleep. Casey calls for her Daddy as she thrashes in upset. Lisbon turns on a bedside lamp and pulls her daughter into her lap.

"Daddy….I'm sorry!" Casey yells, over and over. Lisbon strokes her head and keeps rocking her. "Casey, you're having a bad dream, wake up for me," She says quietly and watches as her daughter finally relaxes and stops yelling. Casey opens teary eyes, drops spilling onto her cheeks.

"Mama, I was scared. The mean man was here in our room and Daddy couldn't help us."

Lisbon holds Casey tighter, continuing to rock her. "It was just a bad dream, honey. Nobody is here with us."

Casey moves off her mother and kneels beside her on the bed. "Mama, is Daddy going to be mad at me?"

"No, sweetheart, why would he be?

"'Cause I did something he told me not to do," she answers as she lies down next to her mother. A moment later Lisbon looks down and sees her daughter has fallen asleep sucking her thumb, something Casey hadn't done for a year. _What did Casey do that she was afraid Jane would be mad at her?_


	6. Chapter 6

Jane is awake and sitting up in the hospital room. He doesn't seem happy. He looks at the tray of food the nurse delivered for breakfast, and makes a face as he moves the scrambled eggs around. He dips his finger in the tea and finds it tepid - not hot as tea should be. The worst thing is the small muffin. It's a bran muffin, which he hates.

He moves the tray aside and sighs, closing his eyes. The door opens and his daughter runs full speed to his bed, followed by Lisbon who is holding a box of takeout food.

Casey jumps up and down, she's so happy to see him. "Daddy, I picked out a breakfast for you. Mama said you would love it." She looks at the food on the tray and her face scrunches up. "That doesn't look good." Jane agrees but is too busy leaning over to kiss his daughter to bother commenting. _That_ food deserves to be ignored and quietly thrown away. Lisbon comes to the other side of the bed, gives him a kiss and sets the box in front of him.

When she opens it his eyes light up. "You went to Marie's!"

"Marie made it for you herself." She replaces the hospital tray with the takeout food, then reaches in a large bag she brought and takes out a travel mug. "Earl Gray for your breakfast tea."

Casey stands on tiptoes to put a package on the bed. "I picked out a blueberry muffin for you."

"My two girls have had a busy morning it seems," he smiles and Lisbon gives him another kiss, glad to see him feeling so much better.

Casey attempts to get on the bed, but doesn't make it. After glancing at Jane to be sure it's okay, Lisbon lifts her up and sets her next to him. "Remember what I said Casey. Be careful when you're on the bed with Daddy."

"I will Mama…I don't want to hurt Daddy again." The adults look at each other.

"Can I have a bite of your muffin when you get to it? I love blueberry muffins," she says hopefully.

"I'm glad you asked, sweetheart. With all this food I might be too full to eat the whole muffin," Jane says taking a bite of the scrambled eggs. He actually moans in pleasure at the taste. "Marie makes better eggs than I do."

"I saw the doctor before we came in. He says you can go home tomorrow as long as your foot and leg show no sign of infection. It'll be good to have you home with us," Lisbon says sitting in a chair by the bed.

"Does Cho know any more information about-"

Lisbon cuts him off. "No, nothing new. Wiley is going through the files looking at the history of the cabin to see if anything comes up about it."

Casey moves closer to her father, her head on his arm. Jane looks down at her, surprised at how sad she looks. Lisbon shakes her head not knowing what is wrong. Casey came in a very happy child and now is almost in tears. Jane pushes the tray further down the bed away from him and Casey. He puts his arm around Casey, hugging her to him.

"Do you want to talk to me about why you're so sad?" Casey shakes her head 'No,' and puts her thumb in her mouth.

"I thought you're a big girl and didn't want to suck your thumb anymore?"

Casey wipes the tears sliding down her cheeks. She moves away and kneels on the bed facing her father. "Daddy." She stops and looks at her mother.

"What do you want to say, Casey?" Lisbon says gently, holding Jane's hand. They wait as Casey struggles to talk about what upset her.

"Daddy, I did something you told me not to do…and it brought the bad man to our house and he hurt you because of me." Casey's crying. "I'm sorry, Daddy." She covers her eyes and puts her head down, crying even harder. Jane motions to Lisbon to bring Casey closer to him. She moves Casey beside her father. Jane lifts her head up gently with his hand under her chin. Casey chokes out, "Remember when those men came and they cut down that old tree with the swing on it?" Jane nods. "You let me come and watch. When it was over there was a big hole in the ground. You told me not to play around it, because I might get hurt." The rest of her confession tumbles out, almost too fast to understand. "The next day you were busy and I went out the back door and you didn't see me when I went to look in the hole to see what was there that might hurt me, but there was nothing." She is trying her best not to cry. "I jumped in and thought it would be a good place to hide and then I saw it. It was almost uncovered, and I moved the dirt around so I could see. It was a dirty bag, but it was easy to open and there was a lot of money in it. I remembered what you used to say about money - that it doesn't grow on trees. Daddy, it grows under it and maybe you didn't know that. That's what the man wanted, he saw me with the bag throwing money in the air. I was somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, the old driveway. When he stopped his car I got scared and ran away." She throws herself at her father, jostling his wounded leg, but he is too concerned about his daughter to care. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't know it was his, and he hurt you." Jane scoops his daughter in his arms and holds her. She's crying again and he looks to Lisbon for help.

Lisbon pats Casey's back. "Sweetheart, it wasn't your fault for what happened to your father."

"Yes it was! Daddy told me not to go to the tree and I did."

Patrick cradles her against his chest. "Casey, I'm glad you told me about the bag now and I'm not mad at you. I'm disappointed you didn't listen to me." Her face crumples. It's all he can do to continue when she looks like that. "Your mom and I have rules for you so you don't get hurt." Her crying wanes. Lisbon hands him a Kleenex. He wipes Casey's face and has her blow her nose.

"Daddy, I'm sorry."

He just holds her until she stops crying. After a few moments he looks down and finds she's fallen asleep. Lisbon moves to take Casey but he shakes his head. "She can sleep here, she's not hurting me. What are we going to do with your daughter, my love?"

"Patrick, she is all _you_ , always exploring things, getting into trouble and then telling us way after the fact," Lisbon counters, smiling.

"Maybe but she got all the good looks from her mother." With that Jane closes his eyes and takes a nap with their daughter.

Lisbon takes out her phone and calls a number. "Cho, I think we know why the man was at our house, and where the money is that he wanted. Meet me in Jane's room later this afternoon. He and Casey are taking a nap right now. See you then."

Later, the Rigsby's stop by to visit with Jane. Casey sits on a couch with her mother as Lisbon reads to her. Grace notices Jane trying to stay awake.

Grace goes over to Lisbon. "Okay, Casey. Wayne and I are taking you to dinner at a fun place you're going to love. Go say goodnight to your father." Casey gets up and goes to the bed. Rigsby lifts her onto the bed next to Jane.

"Good night, Daddy. I love you a whole lot." She gives him a big kiss which Jane rewards with a huge smile.

"Be a good girl for your aunt and uncle and sweet dreams to my girl." He kisses her on the forehead.

After Rigsby sets her on her feet she waves to Jane and runs over to Grace and Lisbon. "Mama, will you let me be in your bed tonight?"

"If your aunt and uncle are awake when I get to the hotel I'll come get you."

Casey hugs her and joins Grace and Wayne. She waves goodbye and the three leave just as Cho arrives.

Cho stops at the door and hugs Casey and kisses Grace on the cheek. "Just a handshake for you, Rigsby," he warns brusquely, ensuring his old partner doesn't even think of hugging. They shake and Cho goes into the room. Lisbon is standing by the bed so Cho goes to the other side. "How're you feeling, Jane? You look a lot better."

"My lovely nurse gave me a nice shot that seems to be working." He gives a silly grin. "Will you be here when I wake up, my lovely wife?"

"Of course I will. You rest. Cho and I will meet here while you sleep." She bends down and kisses Jane. "I love you."

Jane tries to say something more, but he sighs, closes his eyes and is asleep. She pulls the blankets higher on him and turns off the light over his bed. She and Cho go sit on the couch.

"Wiley did some good work today. Seems your land once belonged to James Burton. He has been in and out of prison since he was a kid. He and a partner robbed a bank ten years ago. His partner decided to take the money for himself. He was found later in his car, beaten to death. Burton was arrested a few days after. He was charged for the bank robbery; not enough to show he killed his partner. The police tried to make a deal - less prison time in return for the money, but Burton said his partner took it. Claimed he didn't know where it went. He's been out of prison for five months."

"His partner probably told him where it was before he died. Burton likely beat it out of him." Lisbon looks over at Jane. "Casey told us she found the money under a tree we had removed. She said the man who hurt Jane wanted his money back."

"Burton knows the bag has to be there, and knows that Casey has it hidden. Did she tell you where?"

"The day she first saw him she ran into the house. Burton must have panicked and left. I bet Casey has it in her safe room. So do you have a plan, Senior Agent Cho?"

"Do you think Casey could point him out in a line-up? If she could do it - and I'm sure Patrick could pick him out - we can arrest him. He'd get prison for life on his third strike."

"I know she saw him a couple of times, but both times she was scared. I'm not sure if she could do it." Lisbon shrugs her shoulder uncertainly.

They both turn at Patrick's voice. "Casey can do it. She has a memory palace and she's like a sponge putting things in it." Very sleepy, he adds, "She's my daughter," before drifting off again with a smile on his lips.

Some weeks later the Jane's and Cho are waiting outside a courtroom. Casey is playing with her father's phone not at all concerned that she'll be going in to testify.

The bailiff comes out of the courtroom. "Casey Jane?"

Jane and Lisbon look over at her as she gets up. "Ok, Mama. I'm ready."

Lisbon takes her by the hand and follows the bailiff into the court. He takes Casey to the witness stand, helps her into the chair, and walks away.

"Casey, my name is Judge Harris and those two men sitting at the tables are going to ask you some questions. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir."

Very seriously the judge asks, "Do you _promise_ to tell the truth?"

"Yes, sir."

The prosecuting attorney approaches Casey and smiles. "I'm only going to ask you two questions, Casey, and I want you to think before you answer."

"Okay."

"Two days before your father was hurt, you saw a man near your home, and he tried to take you. Do you see that man in the courtroom?" She points quickly at the man sitting at the other table. "Thank you. Do you see the man who hurt your father in your home?"

"Yes, he is the man sitting at the table. He looks mad like he did the first time I saw him. I remember seeing him out my bedroom window the day he hurt Daddy. I have bad dreams about him. Mama says I wake up screaming," she says looking at the man.

Later that afternoon Cho and the Jane family exit the courtroom.

"Are they going to make the bad man have a time out?" She asks Cho.

"Yes, sweetheart. He's going to have a long time out." He bends down to her. "You were a brave little girl in the courtroom."

"I didn't want him to ever hurt my daddy again." She looks up at Jane. "I promise to always do as you say, Daddy."

Jane lifts her and looks over at Lisbon. "I know you will, just like your Mama does. You take after her."

The four of them walk away.

The End.


End file.
